Jamal Murray ready for more hoops, to play for Canada at World Cup

Jamal Murray is ready for more hoops, and will officially suit up for Canada at the FIBA World Cup later this summer.

The Nuggets superstar point guard is fresh off an NBA title and an ESPY, but he’s already itching to get back on the court. The move was announced Thursday night when Canada made its roster for the tournament official.

One goal.#FIBAWC | #WinForCanada pic.twitter.com/0Coh2BFBwJ

— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) July 13, 2023

Murray will join the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder, Nickeil Alexander-Walker of the Timberwolves, RJ Barrett of the Knicks and Dillon Brooks of the Rockets on the team.

The tournament runs from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10, so Murray won’t have much time between wrapping that up and the start of Nuggets training camp. Games are taking place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, so there will be significant travel as well.

Murray was born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, and played basketball there all the way through high school. He hooped one year for Kentucky in 2015-16 before being taken No. 7 overall by the Nuggets in the 2016 NBA Draft.

It’s been a wild ride for Murray, including some incredible lows after tearing his ACL in 2021. He missed two postseasons before playing spectacular basketball the last few months and helping guide the Nuggets to their first championship.

And now he feels good enough to go represent Canada, as they’ll look to make some noise at the World Cup and qualify for the 2024 Olympics with a top-two finish among teams from the Americas.

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